Ready For Unsteady

Ready For Unsteady logo – emergency preparedness for everyday life
Ready For Unsteady logo – emergency preparedness for everyday life

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Extreme Cold Preparedness

When the cold really hits, power can go out, pipes can freeze, and wind chills can make even a quick trip outside risky. Here’s how to keep things running and yourself safe when temperatures take a nosedive.

Planning For Extremely Cold Weather

  • Insulate: Ensure proper insulation in your attic, walls, and basement.
  • Seal: Caulk and weatherstrip doors and windows to prevent drafts.
  • Heat sources: Have a backup heating source like a fireplace, wood stove, or an indoor propane heater and ensure it’s properly maintained. Consider a camping tent you could set up in a common room to retain body heat with family and pets if necessary.
  • Pipes: Insulate exposed pipes and ensure outdoor hoses are turned off and emptied to prevent ice expansion damaging equipment. If you have a shutoff from within the house, turn it off and drain any external pipes.
  • Emergency kit: Assemble a home emergency kit with supplies like water, non-perishable food, first aid kit, and a battery-powered radio.
  • Backup Power & Lighting: Have a rechargeable power bank (for phones / essential devices), flashlight and batteries, plus a wind-up or solar flashlight. Consider a small inverter or battery backup if you rely on electrically powered medical devices or have pets, etc.
  • Warmth: Stock up on additional blankets and warm clothing, including layers, hats, gloves, and sturdy boots.
  • Medication: Ensure you have enough medication on hand, including cold and flu remedies if you or a family member get sick.
  • Communication: Keep your cell phone charged and have a backup charging method. See our emergency communication page for additional options.
  • Emergency plan: Discuss emergency plans with your family, including evacuation routes and meeting points. Everyone in the household should know:
    • Where to go in case of an evacuation (friend’s house, warming shelter, community center).
    • How to get there if roads are icy or public transit shuts down.
    • Who to check in with, have a family member outside the area who serves as a communication hub.
      • Example: “If we can’t reach each other, everyone texts Aunt Beth once they’re safe, she’s our out-of-area contact.”
  • Winter tires: Consider investing in winter tires for better traction.
  • Emergency kit: Keep a car emergency kit with mylar and warm blankets, jumper cables, shovel, ice scraper, and non-perishable food.
  • Fuel: Keep your gas tank at least half full.
  • Maintenance: Ensure your car is in good condition, has antifreeze, windshield wipers and fluid, and the heater is working properly.
  • Stay informed: Monitor weather forecasts and follow local advisories.
  • Check on neighbors: Keep an eye on elderly or vulnerable neighbors.
  • Carbon monoxide: Be cautious when using alternative heat sources indoors (propane heaters, generators or grills) as they can produce carbon monoxide. Even an improperly maintained fire place can pose as a risk.
  • Outdoor safety: Limit outdoor exposure, dress warmly in layers, and be aware of signs of frostbite and hypothermia (see below).

Staying Safe During a Power Outage

  • Layer up: Wear multiple layers of warm clothing, including hats, gloves, and socks.  
  • Insulate: Use blankets, sleeping bags, and towels to block drafts and and keep warmth where you need it most.
  • Centralize: Gather everyone in one room to  share body heat. This is where a camping tent comes in handy – you can have everyone in the household (and pets) sleep inside the tent to retain body heat. 
  • Conserve heat: Close doors to unused spaces, hang blankets over doorways, and seal windows or exterior doors with towels or tape to keep the heat from escaping.
  • Alternative heat sources: If necessary and safe, use a fireplace, indoor propane heater, or wood stove and ensure you have a working carbon monoxide detector. NEVER use a gas stove or  oven for heating.
  • Generator safety: If using a generator, always  operate it outdoors and away from windows. Carbon monoxide is deadly.        
  • Fireplace and stove safety: Ensure proper ventilation when using fireplaces or alternative heating methods.
  • Monitor alarms: Keep carbon monoxide detectors working and batteries fresh.
  • Vehicle Exhaust: If you need to use your vehicle for warmth, ensure your car’s exhaust pipe is not blocked by snow. Do not run the engine in a closed garage or enclosed space.
  • Prevent pipe freezing: Let faucets drip slightly to maintain water flow.   
  • Conserve water: Limit water usage to prevent strain on the plumbing system.
  • Food safety: If the power outage is prolonged, you can move fridge and freezer items outside. Keep a thermometer in both your fridge and freezer to determine if the internal temperature poses a risk. Discard perishable food that has been above 40°F for more than two hours.
  • Stay Informed: Keep a battery or crank-powered radio to ensure you can receive weather updates.   
  • Candles: Use flashlights instead of candles to prevent fires.  If you must, avoid scented candles as they’ll quickly overwhelm the house if used for long periods.
  • Emergency kit: Have a well-stocked emergency kit with supplies like water, non-perishable food, first aid supplies, and warm clothing.

Health Hazards of Extreme Cold

Frostbite happens when skin and the tissue underneath start to freeze. It usually affects fingers, toes, ears, nose, and cheeks.

Watch for:

  • Skin that feels numb, hard, or waxy
    Pale, gray, or bluish skin color
  • A tingling or burning feeling that stops as numbness sets in
  • Skin that later turns red and swollen as it warms back up

What to do: Get indoors right away and warm the area gently. Use body heat or soak in warm (not hot) water. Don’t rub or massage frozen skin; that can cause more damage.

Hypothermia is when your core body temperature drops below 95°F (35°C). It can come on slowly and be hard to notice.

Watch for:

  • Shivering that doesn’t stop or eventually stops altogether
  • Slurred speech, confusion, or clumsiness
    Cold, pale skin and slow pulse
  • Drowsiness or fatigue
  • In severe cases, shallow breathing or loss of consciousness

What to do: Move to a warm, dry place. Replace wet clothing with dry layers, wrap in blankets, and use body heat if needed. Sip warm (non-alcoholic) drinks if the person is awake and alert. Call 911 if symptoms are severe or worsening.

Carbon monoxide binds to your red blood cells more easily than oxygen does, and once it’s there, your blood can’t carry oxygen where it’s needed. That means your heart, brain, and other organs start suffocating even though you’re still breathing. Because carbon monoxide has no smell or taste, you often don’t realize what’s happening until you’re already in danger.

Signs of carbon monoxide poisoning:

  • Headache, dizziness, confusion, or weakness
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Lack of coordination
  • Drowsiness or fainting

What to do: Get fresh air immediately and call 911. Leave doors open as you exit to help ventilate. CO binds to your blood and keeps blocking oxygen even after exposure stops. The only proven treatment is high-concentration oxygen, ideally in a medical setting.

We often think of dehydration as a summer issue, but cold, dry air can pull moisture from your body even when you’re not sweating. You may not notice it happening, but it can leave you tired and more vulnerable to cold stress and exhaustion.

Signs of dehydration:

  • Fatigue or headache
  • Dark urine
  • Dry skin or lips
  • Dizziness

What to do: Drink water regularly, even if you’re not thirsty. Warm drinks like tea or broth help too. Avoid alcohol or caffeine, which can make dehydration worse.

Cold weather makes your heart work harder, especially when you’re shoveling snow or doing physical work. The sudden strain, combined with constricted blood vessels from the cold, can increase your risk of heart attack or exhaustion.

Signs:

  • Chest pain or pressure
  • Shortness of breath
  • Dizziness or fatigue
  • Rapid or irregular heartbeat

What to do: Take frequent breaks and move slowly. Push snow instead of lifting it, and avoid sudden, heavy effort, especially if you have heart problems or haven’t been active. If you feel chest pain or severe fatigue, stop immediately and call 911.

Additional Resources

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